Quick Links: Oregon State & LSU Set To Meet Again In Win-Or-Go-Home Scenario

• Friday was not a good day in Beaver Nation. LSU pitcher Alex Lange was on top of his game against Oregon State, holding the Beavers to just one run (not counting #FoulGate) in a thoroughly controlling victory. Then, later that night, the fire alarm mysteriously went off in the Beavers hotel. If the old saying when it rains it pours is true, Oregon State will be hoping the storm has passed by Saturday, when they’ll meet up with the Tigers (again) at 12 PM PT, to determine who goes on to the College World Series Final and who goes home. Oregon State’s probable starter is Drew Rasmussen, while LSU is expected to start Caleb Gilbert.

• And The Valley Shook, SB Nation’s LSU community, is a good place to visit over the next day or so, considering their recap of last night’s game was pretty spot-on from the Tigers perspective. If it’s more recaps you seek, check out The Advocate’s view of the festivities or even the big guys at ABC News getting in on the games in Omaha.

• Alright. So let’s discuss #FoulGate a bit with links from Danny Moran of the Oregonian’s Twitter. First, we have the statement from the Umpire’s Association pertaining to the call and then we have head coach Pat Casey’s response from the post-game. The main consensus about the call is that Casey or the crew chief should’ve questioned the call and that didn’t happen in the moment. Is it unfortunate? Of course. But at this point, there’s no changing it.

• On a semi-related note, it was also awesome seeing former Oregon State basketball star Gary Payton supporting his alma mater in Omaha, even if he is one of those millennials who just can’t get off his phone. Apparently though, he did have a good reason to be caught going over his data plan, even if the reported rumors can’t be substantiated just yet. Payton’s random appearance only added to an already wild game, which also saw LSU continue to attempt to steal on catcher Adley Rutschman and ESPN give it the old college try with their graphics game.

• Despite being at (and potentially over) the scholarship limit for next season, Jake Weingarten (D1Vision, ZagsBlog, Bullets Forever) has reported that the Oregon State basketball program has reached out to recent TCU de-commit Andre Rafus over the past few days. Rafus, a 2017 prospect, took a visit to Georgetown on Friday and he’s also heard from Gonzaga and Penn State, in addition to the Beavers.

• Bruins Nation has announced that three-star offensive lineman Marco Brewer has committed to UCLA, over a wealth of fellow suitors for his services. This comes as big news to the Beavers, considering that Brewer is a prospect of Corvallis High School right in Oregon State’s backyard.

ICYMI

• The 2017 NBA Draft came and went and now it’s time to look towards next year’s selection process. So, we decided to take a look at some of the Beavers potential prospects for the 2018 NBA Draft and what impact their returns/departures may have on the Oregon State basketball program.